Rebates and Deferrals

The County of Bruce has established a program to provide tax relief to eligible seniors and disabled.

Information on eligibility and application forms can be viewed and printed from our site for your convenience.

Charity rebate program

The County of Bruce has established a tax rebate program for eligible charities.

Information on eligibility and application forms can be viewed and printed from our site for your convenience.

Vacancy rebate program

Property owners of vacant commercial and industrial buildings may apply for a property tax rebate under certain specifications set out in Section 364 of The Municipal Act and Ontario Regulation 325/01.

To be eligible for a rebate, the building or section of building must have been vacant and unused for at least 90 days and the following conditions are met:

The entire commercial or industrial building has been unused for at least 90 days.

A suite(s) or unit(s) within a commercial building has been vacant for at least 90 consecutive days and is

unused; and clearly delineated or physically separated from the used portions of the building; and capable of being leased for immediate occupation, or

not capable of being leased for immediate occupancy because it is undergoing or in need of repairs/renovations or is unfit for occupation.

A portion of an industrial building has been vacant for at least 90 consecutive days and is

unused; and clearly delineated or physically separated from the used portions of the building.

Exclusions from rebates

No rebate applications will be considered for properties:

where seasonal businesses operate involving closing the building for a portion of the year

where buildings or portions of buildings are vacant but leased to a tenant

where land is considered vacant (e.g. new buildings that have never been occupied)

Application deadlines

Owners of qualifying properties may submit a maximum of two applications per property per year. Specifically, they may submit either:

one application in respect of all vacancies that occurred on a property during the entire year, due February 28 of the following year, or

one application in respect of the vacancies that occurred during the first six months of the year, due August 31 of the current year, and a second application for vacancies that occurred during the last six months of the year, due February 28 of the following year.

To apply for a rebate, please complete the Commercial Vacancy Rebate Application.